Eurostar to La Rochelle

The city of La Rochelle can be found in Western France, and has a gorgeous seaport and harbour that lies along the Bay of Biscay in the Atlantic, which is definitely worth a trip during the summer holidays. It's very easy to reach, as it is one of the Eurostar's many connecting destinations. The city dates back to Roman times, so there are plenty of historical and cultural attractions, as well as a few fun things for families to do. La Rochelle is an easy train journey with Eurostar from London, Ebbsfleet or Ashford International, and take around 6 hours, with just one change.

About La Rochelle

If you're taking the kids with you, a definite attraction will be La Rochelle's relatively new aquarium, which is right in the centre of the city. It opened in late 2000, and it draws the crowds in from far and wide. Within the aquarium, you'll find an abundance of marine life, almost 12,000 examples in all, hailing from not only the Atlantic Ocean, but the Pacific Ocean and The Mediterranean Sea too. There are sixty-five tanks indoors, where you'll see the creatures in recreations of their natural habitats. There's even the opportunity to see 'baby' fish, or newborns, close to the entrance.

Another activity to occupy the family is a trip to the Automatons and Scale Model Museum. It's a surprisingly large building, with lots of different sections showcasing some incredible collections. Most of the pieces from the collections originate from France and Europe. There's also the opportunity to see the inner workings of the mechanisms. And make sure you stop off in the small-scale model section of the building. Here you'll find many replicas of cars, boats and planes which look even more detailed than their actual counterparts.

If architecture is the thing that draws you in, you won't be able to resist a trip to The Great Clock (La Grosse Horloge), which can be found right next to the port, and acted as an entrance to La Rochelle. The tower dates back to the fourteenth century, making it a superb example of gothic architecture. Start here and make an afternoon of it by continuing your journey through to the old harbour, which dates back to the thirteenth century. The city used to be walled, but now all that remains in this area is the port, and two facing towers (the Saint Nicholas and The Chain), which were constructed in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries.

La Rochelle by Eurostar Trains

You can get to La Rochelle on one of the Eurostar's connection services. This means you'll have to change trains at some point. Eurostar trains depart from St Pancras International. Your simplest option of connection services after getting on the train at London is to change at Paris Gare du Nord, which will only take two hours and fifteen minutes. From here, you'll need to get to Gare de Montparnasse. (You can either grab a taxi or take the Metro.) Then you can catch a TGV service that will take you to La Rochelle. You can expect the total journey time to be about six hours.

Visit the official Eurostar web site to book your train tickets to La Rochelle.